My nubian doe who has been dry since January and didn't get bred last winter has started to produce milk!! I thought I knew the facts of life, but this is a little puzzling. Up until last week I had a young buckling in with her and the other girls. I thought that the beginning of July would be a good time to start separating everyone. He is 4 1/2 months old and is now sharing a field with another doeling (year old) and I am quite sure that she went into heat and was bred last week. But my older doe(3 year old nubian and I believe togg cross somewhere) started to look like she was filling out, tonight while I was feeding and brushing her I inspected her udder in case something was wrong and milk came from one side. I was surprised!!! I checked the other side and milk is there as well. What should I do?? I was going to move her with the little buckling next month and hopefully get bred. Is it possible that she is bred already? Even if she is bred (this was my intention), how far along could she be? This little buck is still only half her size, if that! I was wondering if he was going to be able to reach that far by fall. Is it possible that I am overfeeding her? She is getting about a pound of grain a day, hay and really good browse. All in all this has been a really strange day!

-- Terri in NS (terri@tallships.ca), July 13, 2001

Answers

My mother knows her goats, and she said yes!, the 4 1/2 month old buck is old enough to have bred the doe. As for the size difference...well, where there's a will there's a way...

-- Cathy <>< (trinityhealth@nativestar.net), July 13, 2001.

Even if the buckling was able to reach her at only 4 and 1/2 months it doesn't mean she would udder up instantly. At the most and that would be stretching it she is only 4 weeks long, and I doubt seriously a 3 month old bred an older doe, let alone that she let him. Are you sure she didn't have access on her own to a buck in Feburary, March or April? No other buck on the place during those months? Another thought was that the buckling has been nursing her this whole time, and with him out of the pen you are noticing the milk? Though we have yearlings come into milk unbred, this is simply something we don't see with our older does. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), July 14, 2001.

There was no buck on the premises until I bought this little fella in May. I missed breeding this girl last year because I couldn't tell when she was in heat. I have only seen signs of maturity in the buck in the last couple of weeks, and then only with the younger doe. Rosie just gives him a knock out of the way. But nevertheless she has milk, not a full huge bag but it certainly has become noticeable. Should I milk this out or leave her be and see what happens? I am hoping that this is a good sign of her milk producing capabilities.

-- Terri in NS (terri@tallships.ca), July 14, 2001.

Sounds like you have what's called a precocious milker... I doubt milking her will hurt, as long as you watch for mastitis or other udder/mammary infections. This is not uncommon in goats. :)patty Prairie Oak Miniatures http://www.minifarm.com/prairie_oak

-- Patty (littlegoats@wi.rr.com), July 14, 2001.

I agree with Patty. It is possible for a doe that has never been bred to develop an udder and start giving milk, particularly in finely bred dairy breeds. Accept the blessing: milk without the trouble of breeding, birthing and raising the kids.

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), July 14, 2001.

I was under the impression from the first part of her question that this doe has been milked before...."has been dry since January and didn't get bred last winter..........." A percoscious milker is a virgin doe who comes into milk for hormonal reasons. A doe who has kidded before and who is dried and then comes into milk is bred ;) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), July 15, 2001.

Hi Terri, Do to injury typing is difficult so this will be short. We currently have two dry (formerly milking) unbred does who decided to come back into milk. The other does are currently on their second/third year milking. (We were changing breeding lines so there was no buck on the place for a year and the buck kid we purchased is still in isolation.)Our lines are high producers and this is not uncommon when we let a doe go unbred for a season. So your doe may not be bred, just came back into milk. It is possible, but it is also possible for very young bucks to breed. We seperate at 10 weeks just to play it safe.

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle Mn. Sunset (dmcgonig@smig.net), July 15, 2001.